Seasonal Food

[michaelanglo]

Flapjacks

1 cup / 110g / 4oz butter (or margarine)

1/3 cup / 50g / 2oz Demerara or light brown sugar

2 Tbsp / 30g / 1.5oz golden syrup (light corn syrup) or maple syrup

2 1/4 cups / 225g / 8oz rolled oats

As a variation add a some or all of :-

a little dried fruit, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 1/4 tsp ground mixed spice.

If you like it stickier, double the sugar and increase the fat and syrup by 50%.

Preheat oven to 180 C 350 F mark 4

Warm the butter, sugar and syrup in a saucepan until the fat and sugar have just melted

( or place in a microwavable glass bowl and microwave on High for about a minute).

add the rolled oats and mix thoroughly.

Grease a shallow baking tray (20 cm / 8in square sandwich tin),

spoon in the mixture and spread flat with spoon or a palette knife

Bake for about 30 minutes or until a even golden brown.

Mark into 12 portions after cooling in the tin for about 5 mins

and remove when just cool. Stores well in a airtight tin.

[Fonman805]

Flapjacks is another word with a different meaning in the UK than in the US.

In the US flapjacks (or pancakes, griddlecakes) are a non-seasonal, common* breakfast item made from a flour-based batter. Usually served in a stack, topped with butter and maple syrup. Often accompanied with bacon, sausage, eggs or hash browns... sometimes all of those.

*[They were more common in past decades when people had more time to cook at home (more housewives?). Now eaten more often at restaurants serving breakfast, or frozen/microwaved at home. There are also potato pancakes, but they are in another category.]

[Lking]

Flapjacks is another word with a different meaning in the UK than in the US.

Not being from the UK, 'tell me something I don't know.'

Of course after reading michaelanglo's version of "Flapjacks" I see your/my confusion.

michaelanglo you need to check your conversions "1 cup / 110g / 4oz butter (or margarine)"

Looking at a stick (4oz) of butter it clams to be 8 TBSP or 1/2 cup, a cup would be 1/2 lb of butter.

[michaelanglo]

Not being from the UK, 'tell me something I don't know.'

Of course after reading michaelanglo's version of "Flapjacks" I see your/my confusion.

michaelanglo you need to check your conversions "1 cup / 110g / 4oz butter (or margarine)"

Looking at a stick (4oz) of butter it clams to be 8 TBSP or 1/2 cup, a cup would be 1/2 lb of butter.

Thanks.

Looking at the cookbook (cookery book in British English - 1984 Marguerite Patten) I correctly copied the recipe as printed but looking at surrounding recipes it is pretty clear that 1/2 cup was intended.

I made the weight version before posting but 1 cup probably works, just gives a different result.

Volume/weight see "The Kitchen Scale Manifesto":

http://recipes.egullet.org/ksm.php

Digital scales are less than $10 from walmart when I last checked (and I keep a $2 calculator in my knife drawer). Together they make adjusting recipes sizes trivial.

[Lking]

I made the weight version before posting but 1 cup probably works, just gives a different result.

Volume/weight see "The Kitchen Scale Manifesto":

<snip>Together they make adjusting recipes sizes trivial.

Yes, twice as much butter would 'probably work.' At some point though it transitions to "pan fried" then to "deep fried."

But proportions are what makes the difference between British Flapjacks, Oatmeal cookies (add an egg) and a cake.

You also need to be sure you have the correct conversions when using you scales. My 1/4 pound of butter (4 oz) has a "net weight of 113g" and a volume of 1/2 cup or 4 liquid ounces. (These British things are so awkward!)

However I do agree with you about scales. When I scaled up expanded my daughter-in-law's (to be) favorite Orange poppy seed cake from a 9" round to a wedding party of 300, cups and teaspoons just wouldn't do.

[QuantumMechanic]

here is my 'british' flapjack recipe:

50g jordans ceral

50g puffed rice

50g Biona

50g oats

60g butter

2 tbs Honey

2 tbs golden syrop

3 tbs light brown sugar

150g mixed fuit and nut

50g drided apricots

1. chop or whizz mixed friut and nut and apricots till small size and mix with the first four ingredients well in a bowl

2. put butter, honey, golden syrop and sugar into bowl and microwave for 1 1/2 mins. (stiring near the end)

3. mix both bowls together

4. place contents into flat glass dish and flatten and microwave for under 5 minutes (5 min or over means it will be definitly burnt!)

5. let cool

6. if you have chocolate available, then melt a layer ontop.

using 1KW microwave on high power.

[Wazoo]

50g jordans ceral

50g Biona

Minor nitpick, but .... not knowing what these items were exactly, looked them up. Not a lot of help, actually.

http://www.jordanscereals.co.uk/products shows quite a few cereals, perhaps some could be used for just that 'special' taste, but ...??? which one is actually recommended?

http://www.windmillorganics.com/page-28.html pretty much states that 'Biona' is basically a brand-name. There's a whole slew of stuff that uses it as part of the item name/description.

[QuantumMechanic]

true, both brandnames.

I can not actually recall clearly what the Biona was - but it was from a shop called Hansa, a healthfood shop, it was probably some sort of ceral based product, possibly with red drided fruit - it was wrapped on clear plastic and merely had perhaps two stickers on and was about the 500g size.

Also I dont recall which line of Jordans was the one used, red box is the only clue I can provide

The pictures on the site links provided do not spark immediate recognition as to the specific product lines.

[dra007]

Oh man...this stuff sounds sinful on my carb-free diet... only good thing is that oats is reputed to lower the bad colesterol...